Straight from Wikipedia:
Evolutionary ideas such as common descent and the transmutation of species have existed since at least the 6th century BC, when they were expounded by the Greek philosopher Anaximander. Others who considered such ideas included the Greek philosopher Empedocles, the Roman philosopher-poet Lucretius, the Arab biologist Al-Jahiz, the Persian philosopher Ibn Miskawayh, the Brethren of Purity, and the Eastern philosopher Zhuangzi. As biological knowledge grew in the 18th century, evolutionary ideas were set out by a few natural philosophers including Pierre Maupertuis in 1745 and Erasmus Darwin in 1796. The ideas of the biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck about transmutation of species had wide influence. Charles Darwin formulated his idea of natural selection in 1838 and was still developing his theory in 1858 when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him a similar theory, and both were presented to the Linnean Society of London in separate papers. At the end of 1859 Darwin's publication of On the Origin of Species explained natural selection in detail and presented evidence leading to increasingly wide acceptance of the occurrence of evolution.

But if we think about it there are many things that we can associate with Evolution. With that being said, what does it mean to you? Can we associate technology with Evolution? Or is that just advancements in life?

John Deere wrote:Straight from Wikipedia: Evolutionary ideas such as common descent and the transmutation of species have existed since at least the 6th century BC, when they were expounded by the Greek philosopher Anaximander. Others who considered such ideas included the Greek philosopher Empedocles, the Roman philosopher-poet Lucretius, the Arab biologist Al-Jahiz, the Persian philosopher Ibn Miskawayh, the Brethren of Purity, and the Eastern philosopher Zhuangzi. As biological knowledge grew in the 18th century, evolutionary ideas were set out by a few natural philosophers including Pierre Maupertuis in 1745 and Erasmus Darwin in 1796. The ideas of the biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck about transmutation of species had wide influence. Charles Darwin formulated his idea of natural selection in 1838 and was still developing his theory in 1858 when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him a similar theory, and both were presented to the Linnean Society of London in separate papers. At the end of 1859 Darwin's publication of On the Origin of Species explained natural selection in detail and presented evidence leading to increasingly wide acceptance of the occurrence of evolution.

But if we think about it there are many things that we can associate with Evolution. With that being said, what does it mean to you? Can we associate technology with Evolution? Or is that just advancements in life?

A wise man once said â€œBut this is not a reason. This is not a "why". He himself - his very nature is a means. It is not an end. And so to look for him is to be looking for a means to do... what? What is the reason? Soon the why and the reason are gone and all that matters is the feeling. This is the nature of the universe. We struggle against it, we fight to deny it; but it is of course a lie. Beneath our poised appearance we are completely out of control.â€

"Not everyone who is single is lonely; not everyone who is taken is in love." I'm a seeker of (& full participant in) present-moment magic, and nothing beats playa love! <3

i'm not kidding. The "wet-ware" and implants that are being tested and will very soon be available to the mainstream are astounding and frightening as they are enticing. Who doesnt want a cornea that can zoom, see in the dark and store images on a teeny tiny flash drive inside your head?(available and being tested now as well)

how about just thinking, and your "Instant thought message" is translated and transferred to your friend who is also part of the "Network"..(see 60 minutes, story on brain controlled computing, 2 weeks ago, and actually they have been fucking with this shit for YEARS!)

cell phones, ubiquitous as they are now will be replaced by implants, and prosthetics and Tissue Farming will be able to fix, or replace broken parts

we will soon be living well past our 150th birthday as the Singularity of Scientific discovery approaches. This is especially noticeable when it involves computing, AI, and integration into our genetic make-up of new and possibly altered gene maps thru "gene therapy".

lets not forget the nanobots, which have ALREADY successfully cured cancer in rats.

A friend of mine has an insulin pump-- that is electronic, and he wears it pretty much all the time as far as I know. Some people have pace-makers, which are integrated electronic devices. So, yes, we are already at the bio-mechanical phase as a species. (Heck, even some of our PETS have computer chips mounted in them! It helps identify who their owners are should they get lost.)

Anyways, as said above, everything is just a step to something else. Or, at least, that is one way of looking at things.

"Nothing is withheld from us which we have conceived to do.Do things that have never been done."--Russell Kirsch

Pangenesis was Charles Darwin's hypothetical mechanism for heredity. He presented this 'provisional hypothesis' in his 1868 work The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication and felt that it brought 'together a multitude of facts which are at present left disconnected by any efficient cause'. The etymology of the word comes from the Greek words pan (a prefix meaning "whole", "encompassing") and genesis (birth) or genos (origin).

Pangenesis holds that body cells shed gemmules, which collect in the reproductive organs prior to fertilization. Thus every cell in the body has a 'vote' in the constitution of the offspring. Atavisms arise due to the awaking of long-dormant gemmules, while limbs regenerate due to the activation of gemmules from the missing limb.

Pangenesis itself is now seen as deeply flawed and not supported by observation, yet it represents Darwin's attempt to explain such diverse phenomena as:

atavisms,
the intermediate nature of hybrids (blending inheritance),
Lamarckian use and disuse, and
limb regeneration.

I am reading this great book Your Inner Fish and it's about how we can see much of our evolutionary history in human embrionic development and in the fossil record.
I do know that there is another sense of "evolution" than strict neo-Darwinism, and that it is in fact the older sense of the word. But after sitting through eight years of scientific know-nothingism I am so happy to embrace the more common sense of the term.

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

all i have to say is that evolution did not stop at man, shit look at the bacteria that has evolved to live in jet fuel, or the fungus they found on earth returned satalites.......
the universe is an ever growning and evolving place. and it is beautiful in such!